WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is asking the Supreme Court for a speedy decision on its plans to shield from deportation and give work permits to millions of immigrants living in the country illegally.

Legal papers filed with the court on Friday call for the court's "immediate review" of the administration's desire to protect as many as 5 million immigrants. The immigrants affected by the plan are mainly the parents of American citizens and lawful permanent residents.

The appeal injects the Supreme Court into a dispute between 26 mainly Republican-led states and the Democratic administration, amid a presidential race in which immigration already has been a flashpoint.